


Knitted

by dragonesdepapel



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 21:18:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5431085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonesdepapel/pseuds/dragonesdepapel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Marinette has to deal with a ruined dress while trying to maintain a conversation with Adrien.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Knitted

Once the akuma was defeated and the city was restored, Marinette looked for a safe place to change back into her civilian self. It wasn't hard, since this attack had been specially destructive and all the streets in a few block radius had had to be evacuated. Just to be safe she decided to hide in an empty alleyway before releasing the transformation. Pink light dimmed out to reveal a blue gown that went down all the way to the floor, covering a pair of low-heeled pumps.

It was Chloe's birthday and she had decided that the best way to honor her was with a formal ball. The whole school had been talking non stop about it for the last few weeks. The blonde had been dropping hints about the entertainments for the for the party and it sounded as ostentatious and extravagant as anyone could have predicted. All of Marinette's class had been invited, along with some important city people and a handful of celebrities. There were even rumors about Ladybug and Chat Noir attending the ball that had Marinette laughing quietly to herself.

She had been on her way to the party when the akuma appeared. Marinette hadn't even needed to look for it because the attack started right in front of her. She had been walking past a plaza when gigantic knitting needles had starting flying everywhere. Chat Noir already had been in the scene by the time Marinette managed to slip into her superhero persona and found the culprit behind the commotion. 

It had taken them almost an hour to contain the situation. Although she was most definitely running late to the party, Marinette wasn't worried about that because it was scheduled to last well into the night. What did worry her was the long, irregular tear in her dress. She had been running, looking for a place to transform when a stray needle had pinned her dress to the ground. There had been no time to figure out a way to release it without causing any damage so she had yanked it off, telling herself that the city was more important. Marinette took the fabric between her fingers, assessing the damage. It was bad, really bad. It started at her knee and ran all the way down to the hem of the dress. There was nothing she could do to fix it or at least conceal it. 

Disheartened, she got out of the alley. She spotted a bench nearby and headed that way. She sat down and took of her shoes, feeling pretty pathetic. She knew she was lucky that the needle hadn't even touched her but right now she felt quite the opposite.  

She didn't have much time to feel sorry for herself however, because she heard someone approaching her. She turned around and found none other than Adrien Agreste making her way towards her. Startled, she jumped out of the bench but managed to stand upright by the time he was in front of her. 

"Hi Adrien" she said. She was pretty proud of herself for accomplishing such a natural greeting, even if she did add an unnecessary wave of her hand. But he was wearing a tux and looking even more handsome than usual, so she could have done a _lot_ worse. 

"Hi Marinette. What are you doing..." he trailed off, a concerned frown replacing his polite smile. "Marinette, are you hurt?" 

She was confused by his question until she realized that he was looking at the gash on her dress. 

"Oh no, don't worry. It's ok. I'm ok. There was a lady shooting huge needles everywhere. And one ripped my dress. But it didn't touch me. And then I couldn't get through and go to the party. But then Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up and they fought and then everything was alright. Well, everything but my dress. But I am alright." 

She would have laughed at the look of concentration that took over his face while he listened to her if she hadn't been so busy trying to form sentences that made sense. Because she  _was_  trying. She always tried. But it was something almost impossible to achieve when the blond was near her. It looked like Adrien got the message though, because he smiled again after she finished talking. 

"I'm sorry your dress got damaged, but I'm glad you are ok. Although it's weird that it didn't get fix along with everything else, isn't it?"  

Marinette was so focused on not jumping from joy because _Adrien was glad she was ok_ and _Adrien was smiling at her because she was ok_ that she almost didn't hear what he said next. Which would have probably been for the better because now she had to answer. She wasn't good at making excuses with people she could talk to, how was she going to do this without making Adrien suspicious? 

"Yeah it's weird... so weird... maybe it was just that I... wasn't at the right place at the right time? That could be it, right? It's not like we actually know how it works... because we don't. I don't know how it works. I have no idea." Marinette wanted to scream out in frustration. Between the stuttering and the awkward pauses and the little nervous laugh that she was sure had left her lips at some point she couldn't have sounded more suspicious if she tried. But it seemed to be enough for Adrien, who gave her a thoughtful nod. It dawned on her that he didn't notice anything off with her response because that it was perfectly normal for her to act like that. At least there was _one_ good thing that came with turning into a babbling mess in front of her crush. 

"What about you? Why aren't you at the party?" she asked, changing the topic just to be safe. 

"I was stuck in a photoshoot that took longer than planned. Good thing the party is still hours away from being over, Chloe wouldn't have been happy if we had missed it. But we should get going. Shall we?" Adrien nodded in the general direction of the party. Marinette felt herself deflate.

"I... yes, you are right. Let's go." 

She tried to move, but Adrien put a hand on her shoulder, making her freeze on the spot. 

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked her. Marinette tried to brush it off and keep going but the boy wouldn't have it. "Marinette" he said firmly.

"It's just... my dress..." she trailed off, nodding towards the torn fabric. "I know things could have been a lot worse but... I worked so hard on it. But I'm probably just being silly." 

"Wait, you made this?" Adrien cut her off, eyeing her so unabashedly that she felt a blush forming on her cheeks. "Marinette, that's amazing! I knew you could sew but I didn't think... Listen, I know this is not ideal, but the tear doesn't make the dress any less beautiful and you still look amazing. You must be so proud of yourself." 

"Thank you" she managed to get out, which was a lot considering that it was a little hard to think with his hand still on her shoulder and the fact that _Adrien had said that she looked amazing_. 

It was tempting to just focus on that and forget about everything else, but she made an effort to think about her predicament. Yes, her dress was ruined but still, she was proud of herself. It was the first time she had done something like this and it had came out exactly as she had envisioned it. It wasn't very elaborate, but she hadn't wanted to bite off more than she could chew. What was she actually worried about? Strangers at this fancy party judging her? Chloe's mean remarks? Neither of those things mattered to her. She was proud of her work, and she knew her friends wouldn't mind her showing up in her current state. But they probably would not be happy if she shied away from the party because of this. And had she also mentioned that Adrien said she looked amazing? Because she was trying really hard to remember that she knew her worth and that everyone else's opinions didn't matter but _Adrien had said she looked amazing_. 

"Thank you" she said again, more strongly this time. The biggest grin adorned her face and she did nothing to conceal it. "We can go now." 

"You sure? " Adrien asked, looking at her curiously. 

"Yeah, it's ok. Let's go!" Marinette tried to take a step forward but Adrien held up both hands and stopped her. 

"Don't you need your shoes for that?" he asked, chuckling. 

"Oh, you are right! I do need them. I can't believe I almost...Adrien?"

The boy had suddenly gotten down in one knee in front of her. He took one of her shoes and held it towards her. It took Marinette a second to figure out what he was doing. She grabbed the soft fabric of her dress and lifted the hem a few inches off the ground. Hesitantly, she raised her left foot and waited until Adrien slipped the shoe into place. If all the shoulder touching and the compliments hadn't done it yet, Marinette could safely attest that his current actions had fried most of her brain functions, except for the part that was chanting  _don't fall don't fall don't fall._  After he placed the second shoe, Adrien stood up. 

"There, you are ready to go now" he said, and Marinette could swear there was some coloring on his cheeks. 

She was still too dumbstruck to speak, which was probably a good thing, but she managed a nod of her head. He offered her his arm and she took it mechanically. They took of towards the party without interchanging another word.

"You know, it's less noticeable when you are moving" he said after a few minutes. "Maybe you should spend as much time as you can dancing." 

"I guess..." she replied. Marinette had found her voice again but she still felt a bit out off it. She had to make a conscious effort to walk normally and not trip over her own feet. 

"I could help you with that, if you want."  

She actually lost her footing at that but his arm was firm under her hand and she regained her balance without pulling both of them to the ground.  _  
_

Maybe her dress getting ruined hadn't been such a bad luck after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I think Adrien would find it easier to slip into Chat Noir if it was for somebody else's benefit (or at least that's what he tells himself.)


End file.
